A Lot of Logistics: Healthcare professionals contemplate COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan.

• Author: Newman, Amy
• Position: HEALTHCARE SPECIAL SECTION

As scientists and medical experts work to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, the conversation has grown to include not just the safety and efficacy of a potential vaccine but the logistics surrounding its distribution as well.

Getting vaccines from the manufacturer and into the hands of vaccine providers in Alaska requires a coordinated, collaborative effort among partners in both the public and private sectors. Alaska's COVID-19 response effort is spearheaded by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS), along with the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, says Military and Veterans Affairs Incident Commander Bryan Fisher.

This collaboration and coordination are important given that the details of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine are being developed simultaneously with the vaccine itself. Because it is currently unknown exactly when a vaccine will be available or how much will be distributed to each state, Alaska must prepare for several different distribution scenarios.

"Initially, states were told to have plans in place for October 2020, and then further information was provided that suggested that limited COVID-19 vaccine doses may be available early in November of 2020 and that the vaccine supply will increase substantially in early 2021," said Sondra LeClair, emergency program manager with the Division of Public Health Rural and Community Health Systems Bureau, during a September COVID-19 Vaccine ECHO (a videoconference connecting Alaska's COVID-19 experts with specific audiences about specific topics). "That is the limitation of the information that's been given about timeline."

Alaska's COVID-19 plan is being created with guidance from the CDC's COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations, says Clinton Bennett, communications director for the Alaska DHSS. Since the plan was still under development DHSS did not want to release information that has not been finalized and could end up changing, thus potentially confusing the process," he adds.

But the information provided at a series of COVID-19 ECHO informational sessions, along with details about how Alaska's vaccine program works in general, help paint a picture of what Alaskans might expect when the COVID-19 vaccine finally arrives.

Prioritizing Vaccine Recipients

Alaska communities have been practicing social distancing since early 2020, and communities have transitioned in and out of varying levels of shutdowns, causing disruptions across the board. One thing is known for certain: a vaccine will not be available for every person immediately, so with every person affected--which populations will be the first to get it?

"When it comes to vaccine allocation, I will say there are a lot of unknowns," said LeClair at the ECHO in...